Endangered Archives Programme

British Library, UK

A Report on the Pilot Project Entitled

“Private Records of Some Leading Business Families of Early Colonial

Bengal”
(EAP 906)

By

EAP: 906 Research Team

Dr. Tridibsantapa Kundu, Principal Investigator

Dr. Sudip Chakraborty, Joint Investigator
Ayan Kundu, Research Assistant
Krishnapriya Chakravarti, Research Assistant
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Acknowledgement

For implementation of this Pilot Project we received support and

encouragement from many people and institutions. We would like to thank
Professor Anuradha Ray of Jadavpur University for her deep concern about this
project. Similarly Professor Sudeshna Banerjee also provided useful
suggestions for implementation of the project. Professor Chittabrata Palit
shared his vast knowledge on the business families of colonial Bengal which
benefited us tremendously.

We would like to thank all the members of the families we surveyed during the
tenure of this project.

Special thanks to the members of Endangered Archives Programme (EAP) for

supporting this project which provided us with an excellent opportunity to
carry out this challenging survey.

We would like to convey our heartfelt thanks to the authorities of Centre for
Studies in Social Sciences (Kolkata), the archival partner of this project for their
invaluable guidance and cooperation. Special thanks to Mr. Abhijit
Bhattacharya and his team members of Centre’s Urban History Documentation
Archive.

This Pilot Project could not be implemented without the hard work of two
young and energetic Research Assistants, Ayan Kundu and Krishnapriya
Chakravarti. We wish to acknowledge their contribution to this project.

Finally, I am thankful to my college authority for providing all sorts of support

for successful completion of the project.

Scope

The idea of this Pilot Project was conceived to explore the private records of
the leading business families of early colonial Bengal. It was a very challenging
project as the tradition of record keeping at the family level is not very fair in
Bengal. The recurrent fragmentation of family unit also disrupted the process
of record keeping. Moreover, the humid climate of Bengal is unfavourable for
preserving old records. When we started the project we were discouraged by
many people including the members of the selected families. Initially they

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were not very much willing to share their private records with us. Some kind of
suspicion was there regarding our intention as so many legal disputes are still
running among the family members. We have to face some questions like ‘who
have sent you to collect our family records?’ It is quit natural to the present
members of those business families as their ancestors had left for them a huge
immovable property and some of them still fight with each other for control of
those properties. So it was very tough to earn the confidence of those families
whom we surveyed.

We set a target of surveying the following twenty five business families of

Bengal.

Name
1 Akrur Dutta’s Family
2 Biswanath Motilal’s Family of
Bowbazar
3 Digambar Mitra’s Family of
Shyamapukur
4 Gakul Ghosal’s Family
5 Gakul Mitra’s Family
6 Ganga Gobinda Singh’s Family
of Kandi and Paikpara
7 Motilal Seal’s Family of
Colootola
8 Datta Family of Hatkhola
9 Prankrishna Law’s family of
Thanthania
10 Rajendra Mallik’s Family
11 Ram Gopal Ghosh’s Family
Address
1 Rajendra Datta Lane, Kolkata
1/C Durga Pithuri Lane, Central Kolkata
34, Shyampukur Street, Kolkata-
700004 (Shyampukur Rajbari),
Bhukailash Rd, Babu Bazar, Khidirpur,
Kolkata, West Bengal 700023
161, Upper Chitpore Road
(Madanmohantola), Kolkata- 700007
Kandi, Murshidabad
59, BT Road, Kolkata
60 Colootola Street , Kolkata-700073
78, Nimtala Ghat Street, Kolkata –
700005
1 Bechu Chatterjee Street, Kolkata-
700006
Marble Palace,46, Muktaram Babu
Street, Kolkata 700007
Ramgopal Ghosh Road, Cossipore

12 Ram Gopal Saha’s Family 4 Thakurdas Palit Lane, Kolkata

13 Ramdulal De Sarkar’s Family Ramdulal Nibas, 67 E Beadon Street,

Kolkata
14 B.K.Pal’s Family 92, Sovabazar St, Shobhabazar,
Kolkata, West Bengal 700005

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15 Ramlochan Ghosh’s Family 47, Pathuria Ghat Street ,Kolkata, West

Bengal- 700006
16 Pal Chaudhuri Family of Ranaghat
Ranaghat
17 Krishnakanta Nandis Family of Kassimbazar House, 302, Acharya
Cossimbazar Prafulla Ch. Road, Kolkata
18 Jadulal Mullick’s Family of 46,Pathurighata Street ,Kolkata, West
Pathurighata Bengal- 700006
19 Raja Nabakrishna Deb’s Family 36 and 33, Raja Nabakrishna Street,
of Shobhabazar Shobhabazar, Kolkata- 700005
20 Mitra family of Darjipara 19 Nilmoni Mitra Street

21 Sanyal family of Natun Bazar 365 Upper Chitpur Road, Kolkata

22 Roy family of Cossimbazar Cossimbazar Rajbar, Cossimbazar,

Murshidabad
23 (Basu) Mallik family of 18 Radhanath Mallik Lane & 44 Gopal
Pataldanga Mallik Lane
24 Sarkar family of Surul, Bolpur Surul, Bolpur, Birbhum

25 Gobindaprasad Pandit and Searsol Rajbari, Searsol, Raniganj

Malia Family of Searsol

We visited all these families, set up contact with the present members and
ultimately succeeded to convince thirteen families out of twenty families to
open up their family records. Some families have genuinely lost their records;
some deliberately avoided us and showed little interest in participating in the
project. We are convinced that some of these families have old records kept in
their iron chests but they will rather let them turn into dust than make them
public. It is surprising that they still enjoy the property of their ancestors but
not at all willing to preserve the legacy of their family founders. We met one
old gentleman of a very reputed business family, a veteran historian having a
PhD degree and writer of several books on his family history who also refused
to collaborate with this project. Later we came to know from reliable sources
that he had sold out the estate records of his family to a paper recycling agent
few years back. This is a kind of mentality still prevalent among a section of the
old families of Bengal.

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Outcome

In spite of all odds, we succeeded in convincing thirteen business families of

Bengal who came forward to make their private records public for the sake of
academic research on the field as well as expressed their willingness to digitize
the records in future for long term preservation of their family records. The
records we have explored are primarily belonged to the category of legal
documents, advertisements, catalogues, seals, letterheads, letters, family
photographs, family trees, manuscripts of family history, punthis (manuscripts)
and printed books.

The present report will present the detailed survey of the following thirteen
business families of Bengal along with a brief family history and a list of private
records available at the custody of these families which could be digitized in
future.

Deb Family of Shobhabazar

Mitra Family of Madanmohantala
Ghosh family of Pathuriaghata
Ray Family of Cossimbazar
Dutta Family of Hatkhola
Law Family of Thanthania
Motilal Family of Bowbazar
Seal Family of Colootola
Mitra Family of Shyampukur
B.K.Paul and Family
Daw Family of Jorasanko
Daw Family of Jorasanko
Uprndrakishore Ray (Chowdhury) and Family
List of Private Records

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Deb Family of Shobhabazar

36 and 33, Raja Nabakrishna Street, Shobhabazar, Kolkata- 700005

Contact persons: Alok Krishna Deb, Subhasis Deb, Debashis Deb, Prabir Krishna Deb

Raja Nabakrishna Deb, the founder of the Shobhabazar family, was closely
associated with the administration of Clive and Verelst. His father Ramcharan
Deb used to work as an official under the then Bengal ruler, Murshidkuli Khan.
He was appointed as a collector and a salt agent of the areas of Hijli, Tamluk,
Mahishadal and other parts of Bengal. Later on, he became the Dewan of
Cuttack. After his death, his wife moved to Arpuli from Karnasubarnapur,
Murshidabad, and then settled down at Sutanuti Shobhabazar. Nabakrishna
Deb, the youngest son of Ramcharan was well read in Arabic and Persian and
later on he mastered in English, the official language of communication during
the colonial period. He started his career as a Persian teacher to Werren
Hastings as early as 1750 when Hastings first landed in Calcutta. By 1756 he
became the Persian clerk or Munshi to the Company. During the crucial days of
1756-57, he rendered useful service to the East India Company as interpreter.
Gradually, Nabakrishna established well found rapport with the Company
officials like Hastings, Clive and others. After the Battle of Plassey in 1757, he
quietly rose to prominence and got a share in the ‘loot of Plassey’. In 1767 he
was appointed Political Banyan to the Company. Clive conferred upon him the
title of ‘Maharaja’ in 1766. He emerged as the most influential Indian not only
during the time of Clive but also in the following years under Clive’s successor
Verelst. By utilising his growing influence, Nabakrishna acquired huge property
in Calcutta. Revenue records revealed Nabakrishna in the role of operator in
salt business as well as in tax collection of the rich Bengal District of Burdwan.
His success as a fortune maker was a phenomenon of the changing times.

Raja Nabakrishna Deb adopted his elder brother, Ramsundar’s son, Gopimohan
Deb in 1770. At that time, he had no issues of his own. But in 1782, his wife
gave birth to a son, Rajakrishna Deb. Both Gopimohan and Rajkrishna were
influential people among the ‘babus’ of 19th C Bengal. They were well read,
patrons of different art forms and specially known for their philanthropic
activities. Gopimohan Deb’s son Radhakanta Deb was a renowned educationist
and social activist. He was the editor of Sanskrit encyclopaedia,

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Shabdakalpadroom in eight volumes, the first of which appeared in 1822 and

the last in 1856. He was the first Knight Commander of the most exalted order
from India. This family is also renowned for hosting dance musical
performances during the Durga Puja festival.

Nowadays the family members are branched out in several professions. But till
today, a larger share of their income comes from the estates scattered in
Calcutta and its suburbs. The continued tradition of estate management is still
visible among the present generation.

EAP 906:Bytal Puchhisi (1834) EAP 906: A Rapid Sketches on The Life of Raja
Radhakanta Deva Bahadur (1859)

The EAP research team visited the Sobhabazar Rajbari several times and meet
the family members and identified some important documents under the
custody of Mr. Alok Krishna Deb, the senior most member of the Deb family.
Of these documents there are some handwritten copies of old legal documents
like equity suits, wills and partition suits of early 19th century and a typed copy
of the Grant of The Tallookdarry by the East India Company to Rajah
Nobkissen, the founder father of the family on 28.4.1778. The original
documents are preserved at Kolkata High Court. We have found two books,

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one written by Raja Kalee Krishen Bahadur entitled Bytal Puchisi or (The
Twenty Five Tales of Bytal) published in 1834 and the other one is a
biographical sketch of Raja Radhakanta Dev entitled A Rapid Sketches on The
Life of Raja Radhakanta Deva Bahadur (1859). Other than these documents
there are some old mementos at the disposal of the family.

Mitra Family of Madanmohantala

161, Upper Chitpore Road (Madanmohantola), Kolkata- 700007
5/1A, Raja Rajballav Street, Bagbazar, Kolkata-700003
Contact Person: Kamal Mitra

The Mitra family, founded by Gokul Chandra Mitra, was one of the leading
business families of 18th century Bengal. Gakul Chandra Mitra fled to Calcutta
from Bally with his father, Sitaram Mitra due to recurrent Maratha raids. He
engaged himself into the thriving salt trade and shortly became a very
successful businessman. He amazed huge wealth from the salt trade and
emerged as one of the leading wealthy businessmen of his time. He was
blessed with having the Madanmohan idol from the Raja of Bishnupur,
Chaitanya Singh who borrowed a huge sum of money from him and mortgaged
the Madanmohan idol to him. His residence soon came to be known as
Madanmohantala due to the presence of the revered idol. His huge earning
from the thriving salt trade and the presence of Madanmohan idol at his
palace gave him a huge social prestige. Along with Raja Nabakrishna Deb of
Sovabazar he petitioned to Lord Clive to get ijara of Calcutta, its suburbs and
24 Parganas in return of a revenue of Rs 13,00000/- per annum. But Clive
refused to grant them the ‘ijara’ due to the fear that they would exploit the
subjects of the Company with their money and man power as both of them
were very influential people of Kolkata. However, luck favoured Gakul Mitra as
he won a lottery and got the entire land of Chandni Chowk. It is said that after
he received the ‘Madanmohan’ idol his luck kept shining on to become one of
the richest men of Calcutta.

Gakul Chandra Mitra was also a very socially active person. He was engaged in
Durga Puja, Ras Utsav, etc. He died in 1808. Along with his death there was a
slow decay in the momentum of the salt business and his successors failed to
carry out the business tradition set up by Gakul Chandra Mitra. Presently, the

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members of the Mitra family are not engaged in any form of business as such.
Some of them are engaged in government services, advocacy, etc.

EAP 906: Will of Gakul Chandra Mitra, 1.6.1807 (first EAP 906: Will of Gakul Chandra Mitra, 1.6.1807 (last page)
page)

EAP 906: Madammohan Thakur O Gokul Chandra Mitra EAP 906: Aron Upjojn’s Map of Calcutta

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We have explored some important documents from this family. The most
important one was the Will of Gakul Chandra Mitra which is one of the earliest
wills of colonial Bengal. Another one is the Aron Upjojn’s Map of Calcutta and
its Environs from an accurate survey taken in the years 1792 and 1793, one of
the earliest maps of Calcutta. The importance of this map lies in the fact that it
illustrates in details for the first time the build up area of the city as well as its
immediate environs. We have also indentified a family history book written in
1937 by Sri Purnachandra Dey entitled Madanmohan-Thakur O Gakulchandra
Mitra (Lord Madanmohan and Gakulchandra Mitra ).The book contains the
detailed survey of the history of Mitra family.

Ghosh family of Pathuriaghata

47, Pathuria Ghat Street ,Kolkata, West Bengal- 700006
Contact Person: Jayantanath Ghosh

Ramlochan Ghosh was the fortune maker of the Ghosh family of

Pathuriaghata, Kolkata. He emerged as a very successful businessman in the
second half of the 18th century. Subsequently he became the Sirkar of Lady
Hastings and also a favourite of Warren Hastings, and generally called as his
Dewan. He amassed huge wealth through his active participation in East India
Company’s official and private trade. He was appointed as the supervisor of
the storehouse of the Company's exportable goods. He employed Kanto
Chandra Nandy in the office of confidential secretary. Ramlochan Ghosh and
his elder brother, Ramprasad at that time were very influential bankers.
Ramlochan was very influential among the members of the Board of Directors
at that time. He used to possess the official stamp of the Company. Ramlochan
had three sons, Shivnarayan, Devnarayan and Anandanarayan. All of them
turned into very influential zamindars in Calcutta. Ramlochan's eldest son,
Shivnarayan and his family moved to 1, Jorabagan street in north Kolkata. He
had three sons, Kaliprasanna, Guruprasanna and Durgaprasanna.
Guruprasanna is famous for his mammoth donation to the University of
Calcutta. Ramlochan's middle son, Devnarayan's son Khelat Chandra Ghosh
moved to 47, Pathuriaghata Street. Khelat Ghosh was a very successful
business entrepreneur who traded with the Company on a large scale and

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became very much influential within the Company circle. Later on, he was
awarded with the post of Honorary Magistrate and Justice of Peace of Calcutta.

EAP 906: Document of Patta, 1727 EAP 906: Document of Patta, 1753

Anandanarayan had three sons, Girindra Chandra, Nagendra Chandra and

Munindra Chandra. They along with Ramlochan's elder brother, Ramprasad's
family continued to reside in 46, Pathuriaghata Street's palatial house. Dewan
Ramprasad had two sons, Rajballav and Ramchandra. Ramachandra's two
descendants, Kailashchandra and Harimohan were famous musicians as well.
The members of the Ghosh family of Pathuriaghata were famous for their love
and patronage for music. It was in the hall of the Ghosh family of
Pathuriaghata that the All Bengal Music Conference was founded in 1937.

We have explored seven handwritten Pattas (deed of land ownership) written

in old Bengali scripts; the earliest one belonged to 1727and others were
created between 1753 and 1799.We also indentified a descriptive printed
family tree in two parts at their house.

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Ray Family of Cossimbazar

Cossimbazar Rajbari , Cossimbazar Road, Murshidabad, West Bengal

1/2, Harish Mukherjee Road, Lala Lajpat Rai Sarani, Kolkata-700020

Contact Person: Pallab Ray

Around 1700 AD Ajodhya Ram Roy of Pirojpur village near Bhagabangola and
the river Padma (who traced his descent from Patrasayer of Burdwan District)
came with his family to settle down in Cossimbazar, a renowned port city of
Bengal closed to Murshidabad, the capital of the Nawab of Bengal. Ajodhya
Ram Roy and his son Dinobandhu Roy were engaged in the business of silk
exports and flourished tremendously.

However, Cossimbazar lost its importance as a port city around the middle of
18th century as the neck of the meandering Ganges at Cossimbazar was cut to
provide a shorter passage of the river from Murshidabad to Berhampore and
gradually turned into a village from a vibrant commercial hub. Forced by the
circumstances, Jagabandhu Roy, the son of Dinobandhu Roy, took up the
service of the East India Company as a Dewan. Recognizing his capabilities, the
Company sent him to East Bengal as the Surveyor General to conduct land
surveys and prepare maps. Subsequently Jagabandhu Roy quit his service and
purchased zamindari at Sarail (at present in Bangladesh) and emerged as one
of the biggest zamindari families in Bengal.

EAP 906: Book printer in the form of a Punthi found at the residence of Ray Family, BS 1293 (C. 1887)

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EAP 906: Punthi found at the residence of Ray Family EAP 906: Yearly Astrological Prediction found
at the residence of Ray family

EAP 906: Sanad to Asutoshnath Ray EAP 906: Sanad to Kamalaranjan Ray

Jagabandhu Roy’s son Nrishingha Prosad Roy built the present palace of the
Ray family at Cossimbazar around 1850. His two sons, Nobokrishno and
Rajkrishno extended the palace but that was demolished due to the
devastating earthquake of 1900.Nobokrishno died without a child. Rajkrishno
and his wife Sukhoda Sundari Devi had a son by the name of Annada Prosad.
Annada Prosad Roy was a highly educated person. In recognition of his
benevolent activities and services to his subject, the British Government

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conferred upon him the title of Rai Bahadur. Later the Government decided to
confer upon him the title of Raja. But unfortunately he expired on the night
just before the day the Ceremony. The Government then decided to confer the
title of Rani to his bereaved wife Annakali Devi at the palace of Cossimbazar.
But she politely turned down the proposal. With the passing away of Annada
Prosad the estate went under the management of The Court of Wards.
Ashutosh Nath Roy, the son of Annada Prosad was groomed under the
supervision of the Court of wards. When he attained the age of 18 the
Government conferred upon him the Title of Raja as a personal distinction at a
special ceremony at the Cossimbazar Palace in 1898. Ashutosh Nath Roy and
his wife Rani Sarojini Devi had three children, two daughters and one son. Raja
Ashutosh Nath Roy passed away at a very early age leaving behind his wife,
two daughters and an infant son Kamalaranjan. Once again the estate passed
under the supervision of The Court of Wards. A British Governess named Mrs
C. Hickmutt was instated in the palace to groom Kamalaranjan. He received the
best education both in European and Indian studies. He completed his BA with
Distinction in English and at the same time he was a scholar in Sanskrit, and
scriptures. He was widely read in Indian and Western literature, history and
legal matters. The estate was managed by a British Manager named Halliday.
When Kamalaranjan attained the age of 18 years, the estate was released and
under his able leadership the family reached the pinnacle of prosperity and
fame. In recognition of his services to his subjects, charitable works,
Kamalaranjan was conferred upon the title of Raja as a personal distinction in
the year 1938. Raja Kamalaranjan Roy was married to Rani Henarani Debi of
the Bhukoilash Raj family of Calcutta. Raja Kamalaranjan Roy had two
daughters and one son by the names of Debika Debi, Bharati Debi and
Prosanta Kumar Roy.

EAP 906: Punthi found at the residence of Ray family

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After the abolition of the zamindari system in 1950s the family faced severe
hardship for time being. However, they recovered shortly. The present family
members i.e., Prasanta Kumar Roy, his wife Mrs. Supriya Ray and their son
Pallab Ray are very much engaged in business. The Roy family is very much
conscious about their family tradition and extremely eager to preserve and
restore their Palace at Cossimbazar and other materials under their
possession.

The EAP 906 research team was warmly welcomed by the present members of
the Ray family. They showed keen interest in preserving the documents under
their custody. We found seventeen punthis (scriptures) written in Sanskrit and
old Bengali script of late 17th and early 18th centuries; some printed books in
the form of punthis; fifty private letters, seventy astrological predictions and
more than 1200 old books of late 18th , 19th and early 20th century. They have
tried their best so far to preserve the materials. But they lacked the expertise
to do it. The family is eager to digitize the whole collection.

Dutta Family of Hatkhola

78, Nimtala Ghat Street, Kolkata-7000058
Contact Persons: Astik Dutta and Suchismita Dutta

The founder of the Dutta family of Hatkhola is often traced back to

Purushottam Dutta. He was originally from Bally. Later he moved to Andul.
Purushottam Dutta had three sons, Ramsharan, Gobindasharan and
Harisharan. Ramsharan stayed back in Andul. Gobindasharan moved to Garh
Gobindapur and Harisharan chose Muragacha in Bengal for settling down.
Ramchandra Dutta (the grandson of Gobindasharan), left Garh Gobindapur to
settle down in Chitpore in north Calcutta in the late 17th century. Ramsharan
Dutta was the mutsuddi of the import-export department of the East India
Company. Starting from Purushottam Dutta this family is now under the aegis
of the 29th generation.

Ramchandra Dutta started working with the East India Company. He was a
mutsuddi (middleman) and a zamindar as well. His grandson Jagatram Dutta
moved to Hatkhola, the main trading centre of Calcutta at that time and
permanently settled down there. Jagatram Dutta became the Dewan of the
East India Company posted at the import-export department of the Patna

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warehouse. He built the gigantic heritage building at Hatkhola, one of the

oldest palaces of old Kolkata.

Although they worked with the Company at large but they never lost their
identity. Rather they were able to carve out their own independent niche
among the British circle. Other notable people from this family included
Durgaram Dutta and Madanmohan Dutta. Under Mir Zaffar a committee was
constituted of 13 commissioners to decide the fate of the wealth taken off by
Siraj ud-Daulah during his invasion of Calcutta in 1756. Durgaram Dutta was
one of them. Madanmohan Dutta was the Dewan of Lord Fergusson. He was a
Baniyan (a middleman) and as well as an independent businessman.

Many people came in contact with the Dutta family that ultimately changed
the course of their lives. For example, Shibram Sanyal (father of Madhusudan
Sanyal), came to Kolkata leaving Jessore and went into trade with the Dutta
family of Hatkhola. It was in Madhusudan Sanyal’s house that the first
commercial theatre performance of India was housed. Madanmohan Dutta’s
employee, Ramdulal De became one of the leading traders of Kolkata involved
into Indo-American trade. Madanmohan Dutta, himself, was widely engaged in
ship business. The Dutta familyof Hatkhola is also related to the famous Basu
Mullick family of Pataldanga. Madanmohan Dutta’s sons, Rasiklal and Haralal
founded the famous Durgeswar temple on Madanmohan Dutta Lane in
Kolkata. It is also known that Gangadhar Mitra, the grandfather of Pyarichand
Mitra,the author of the famous Hatkhola, Alaler ghore Dulal , was the son-in-
law of Madanmohan Dutta.

The palace of the Dutta family of Hatkhola is also known as pakhiwala bari
(birds’ house). They have a huge collection of native as well as foreign species
of birds. One of the descendants of this house, Ramanath Dutta was an avian
vet and he was also a very good player of the musical instrument pakhoyaj.
The family is now branched out into several professions and settled in all over
West Bengal and even in the other states of India.

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Law family of Thanthania

1 Bechu Chatterjee Street, Kolkata- 700006

Contact Persons: Debanko Charan Law, Aparna Law, Alok Kumar Law, Supriya Law

The Law family originally hailed from Chitpur village in Saptagram, the famous
port city of medieval Bengal. Later they moved to Chinsurah and then finally
settled down in Kolkata. Rajiblochan Law, the first notable person of this family
was involved in the money lending business. Later he moved to Patna in search
for better fortune and took up a job under a famous banker, Nandaram
Baijnath. Meanwhile he was engaged in small business. When his sons grew up
he left Patna for Bengal. His eldest son, Prankissen Law started building his
own business ventures that ultimately led to the flourishing of the family.

EAP 906: Appointment letter of Murari Charan Law as Consul of Calcutta, 1947

Prankissen, in his early life, worked in Andrews’ Library at Chinsurah for a

paltry sum. Later on, he joined the provincial court as an assistant. However,
his primary aim was to excel in business. He and his father, Rajiblochan settled
in Kolkata. After a successful stint in the business they bought the house of 67,
Colootola Street. Prankissen took up the job of the head writer in Supreme
Court’s attorney Howard’s office. Simultaneously Prankissen was involved in

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the trade of salt, opium, piece goods, silk garments, Company papers and
foreign made toys. The opium business ultimately brought him hard money for
him. In 1784, Prankissen suffered a huge loss. But he recovered pretty fast due
to his endurance. Prankissen passed away in 1857 leaving three sons and three
daughters. The names of the sons were Durgacharan, Shyamacharan and
Joygobinda. The business organization built by him in 1839 called as
‘Prankissen Law and Company’. This company involved in trade in glass, jute,
opium, foreign toys, paper, and garments in their 63, Radhabazar Street house.
There were more than 15 departmental stores run by them. In 1853,
Durgacharan and his brother opened an agency in London and Manchester.
Through this agency they used to trade in English garments and goods.
Incidentally, the Law family is one of the inaugurators of the National Bank of
India established in 1863. Among the other founders were Hiralal Sheal,
Manobji Rustomji, Patitpabon Sen, W. W. Anderson and others. Durgacharan
was honoured as the Councillor of Legislative Council, Justice of Peace and
Honorary President Magistrate. He received the title of Raja in 1891and later
Maharaja. He was the first member of Indian Port Commissioner and became
a fellow of Calcutta University.

Shyamacharan was Justice of Peace, Honorary Magistrate of 24 Parganas,

member of Advice Committee of East Indian Railway and commissioner of

EAP 906: Salute letter from Léon Dumarsais Estimé, President of Haiti, 1947

Cossipore Municipality. In 1891, he donated Rs.65000 to the Calcutta Medical

College for setting up an Eye Infirmary which was inaugurated by Lord

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Lansdown. He, along with Swami Vivekananda, Maharaja Jatindramohan

Tagore, Pandit Satishchandra Bidyabivushan forced the government to ban the
practice of Kulin polygamy. Prankissen’s youngest son Joygobinda was a long
time member in the municipality committee. He was also the justice of peace,
Sheriff of Kolkata and Honorary Magistrate of 24 Parganas. Law family owned
zamindaris in Kumilla, Khulna, Feni, Bagura, Barishal and certain areas of Dhaka
in present day Bangladeh, Baduria in 24 parganas, Basirhat, Deganga, Bokkhali
and some areas of Medinipur In West Bengal.

EAP 906: Family photograph with Rabindranath Tagore

Presently, a section of this family is still engaged in multifarious businesses and

others have chosen professions other than business.

We have explored the appointment letter of Murari Charan Law as Consul of

Calcutta, a salute letter from Léon Dumarsais Estimé, the President of Haiti, list
of the Sheriffs of Calcutta From 1775 to 1953 and large number of letters and
family photographs. They have a collection of old costumes and jewelleries.

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Motila Family of Bowbazar

1/C,Durga Pithuri Lane, Kolkata -7000006
Arkaprabha Motilal, Biswajit Motilal, Anup MotilaL, Rudra Motilal

The Motilal family of Bowbazar was founded by Biswanath Motilal, a renowned

salt merchant of Kolkata. He was born in 1779 and rose to prominence from an
ordinary position.

EAP 906: Portrait of Biswanath Motila EAP 906: Deed of Gift, 1875

Biswanath Motilal originally hailed from the village of Joynagar, Majilpur. He

belonged to the Rarhi- Brahmin caste and grew up under the tutelage of his
maternal uncle, renowned businessman, Durga Charan Pithuri. Durga Charan
was highly impressed by his business initiatives and willed him almost half of
his properties. He had entered the salt trade in partnership with Rammohan
Mallick of Barabazar. But Biswanath was unsuccessful in business. Then he
joined in the service of the East India Company as a clerk in Company’s salt
depot at Shalkia on a monthly salary of Rs. 8/- only. Later he was promoted to
the rank of Dewan of salt by the East India Company. He received the title of

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Babu by Queen Victoria and gradually came to be known as Babu Biswanath

Motilal.

Biswanath had own business too which made him a leading merchant of his
time. However, he suffered a huge loss during the financial crisis of early 1830s
following the fall of the older agency houses like Messrs Palmer & Co., Messrs
Alexander & Co., Messrs Mackintosh & Co., Messrs Fergusson & Co. and
Cruttenden Mackillop & Co. as he had close financial ties with them. He died in
1844 leaving behind property worth 15 lakhs of rupees for his three sons and
one daughter.

Biswanath Motilal was highly involved in socio-cultural activities. He was a

staunch connoisseur and patron of music and theatre. He was an ardent
follower of musical trends, especially that of Indian classical music and Bengali
folk music. He, once, famously hosted the eminent folk music artist of that
time, Gopal Ure. Later, he contributed to the rise and prominence of Gopal Ure
among the contemporaneous elite Bengali audience to a certain degree.
Biswanath Motilal also generously spent money for the spread of education in
Bengal.

EAP 906: Photograph of two male members with the EAP 906: Photograph of the family deity, Goddess Jagatdhatri
family deity, Goddess Jagatdhatri

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Now the family has been divided into so many fractions and settled in different
parts of Kolkata. The EAP research visited the original house of the Motilal
family situated at Bowbazar in North Kolkata and met the elder members of
the family. We found a number of Deed of Gift, the oldest one dates back to
1875; a family history book in Bengali entitled Bowbazarer Molilal Bansha (The
Motilal Family of Bowbazar) written by Satish Chandra Motilal published in
1935 and a some old family photographs including a portrait of Biswanath
Motilal.

Seal Family of Colootola

60, Colootola Street (alias Maulana Shaukat Ali Street) Kolkata- 700073
Contact Persons: Amal Mullick, Amar Mullick, Rathin Mullick, Sharmishtha Mullick, Indra Prasad
Mullick

Motilal Seal (1792- 1854) was born in a Bengali Hindu family in Kolkata around
1792. He belonged to the Subornabanik caste. His father, Chaitanya Charan
Seal was the owner of a small clothing and garments shop near Chinabazar,
Kolkata. His life took a turn when he married Nagri Dassee, daughter of Mohan
Chand Dey of Surtir Bagan, in 1809. He started working at Fort William around
1815, the then bastion of British supremacy. While working at Fort William, he
was engaged in supply of essential commodities to the British army. Later, he
also worked as an inspector of Indian Customs at Balikhal. He started out his
business venture as a bottle and cork dealer. He traded in cowhides, was the
founder and promoter of the first indigo mart which was established under the
name of M/s Moore, Hickey & Co. He used to export indigo, silk, sugar,
saltpetre and rice to the European countries. He used to import cotton-piece
goods and iron from Europe. He was appointed as Banian of around twenty
first class agency houses of Kolkata. He used to earn huge profits from these
ventures and invested these profits again in his other business ventures. He
never invested his money in the Company papers or securities. He bought
around 12-13 merchant ships.

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EAP 906: Deed of 24.2.1864

He also invested his money in buying big zamindaries near Kolaghat, Bagnan,
Mahishadal, Jessore and other parts of Bengal. He also became a real estate
speculator and a successful merchant in partnership with Fergusson Brothers &
Co., Oswald Seal& Co. and Tulloh & Co. and in these firms he was said to have
lost some thirty lakh of rupees. He got up a number of cargo boats which were
then a new speculation in the market. He was the first to use steamships for
internal trade in Kolkata. He prospered profusely in competition with
Europeans. He made a vast fortune in money-dealing, bill discounting and
other banking business. There was rarely a speculation into which he did not
participate, and for which he did not supply a portion of funds. From dealings
in internal changes to contracts for station-building, for the erection of new
bazaars to revival of transit companies, he was a quiet shareholder. He was
one of the founders of Assam Company Ltd. Under his influence, the then

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Oriental Life Insurance Company (later known as New Oriental Insurance

Company in 1834) founded by the Europeans, being the first life insurance
company on Indian soil, accepted to underwrite Indian lives. He was among the
founders of Bank of India. He was on the board of Agricultural and
Horticultural Society of India. He was known as the Rothschild of Calcutta.

EAP 906: Indenture of 27.02.1874 (First Page) EAP 906: Indenture of 27.02.1874 (Last Page)

He was also a renowned philanthropist. He founded an alms house at Belgharia

in 1841 and a bathing ghat on the bank of the Hooghly River known as Motilal
Ghat which to this day still exists. He is best remembered for his donation of an
extensive tract of land on which the Calcutta Medical College was built. In
1842, he founded the Mutty Lall Seal’s Free College (later renamed as Mutty
Lall Seal’s Free School and College) was to provide education to the Hindus to
enable them to occupy posts of trust and emolument in their own country. The
college had established huge public reputation and competed successfully with
the Government and Missionary Colleges in the University exams. The college
is now situated near Chittaranjan Avenue where it still exists.

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He extended financial support and co-operation for the establishment of Hindu

Charitable Institution and Hindu Metropolitan College and some other
institutions. Although, Motilal Seal himself was a conservative Hindu he was in
favour of Raja Rammohun Roy’s efforts of banning sati, supported the cause of
women’s education as well as the issue of widow remarriage. He made a public
offer for a dowry of 1000 rupees to the person who could break the ancient
taboos of caste and marry a widow. One of the busy streets in Kolkata’s
business district is named after him as Moti Sil Street. He had five sons and five
daughters. The eldest son, Hiralal Seal was also an eminent personality. He
opened an alms house in 1864. He also helped Michael Madhusudan Dutta to
get his license to practice law. Motilal’s youngest son, Gopal Lal Seal had a

EAP 906: Letter from the appointed engineer regarding EAP 906: First page of the estimate of the
the repairing of the house of Motilal Seal (19.4.1937) engineer

penchant for horse collection. He had an exclusive collection of horses in his

stable which was quite rare in his times. He used to spend huge amount of
money on occasions of dances, ballroom parties, etc where the Governor
General was a regular attendee along with his family. He was very popular with
the British government as to be offered the title of ‘Maharaja’. But he refused
it. After Motilal Seal, his Colootola house has become the official residence

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from the fifth generation. Nowadays, the main capital for the sustenance of
this family is through management of landed estate and renting of the portions
of this house. They are still the shareholders of one of the biggest markets in
Howrah. Presently, this family has branched out into professions such as
engineering, medical, teaching, etc.

We have found some important legal documents since 1864 to 1937, a

handwritten family history of 151 pages; a detailed report on the condition of
the palace of Motilal Seal conducted by an engineer in 1937 with an estimate
of renovation of the building.

Mitra Family of Shyampukur

34, Shyampukur Street, Kolkata- 700004 (Shyampukur Rajbari),
1, Jhamapukur Street, Kolkata-700009 (Jhamapukur Rajbari)
Contact Persons: Chandan Mitra, Arpita Mitra, Seeta Ghosh

The founder of the Mitra family of Shyampukur was Digambar Mitra (1817 –
1879). He belonged to the Mandirabati Mitra family of Konnagar. His
grandfather, Ramchandra Mitra had sons, Shib Chandra, Shambhu Chandra
and Rajkrishna. Digambar Mitra was the son of Shib Chandra Mitra. He was
educated at Hare School and later Hindu College and was one of the leading
disciples of Henry Louis Vivian Derozio. He left the college in 1834 and moved
to Murshidabad and took a teaching assignment in the Nizamat school there.
Later on, he left that job and joined as the head clerk under the District
Magistrate and Collector of Rajshahi. But he was not satisfied with the job. He
came back to Murshidabad and joined the service of the East India Company
as tashildar, amin. Towards the end of 1838 he was appointed as the mentor of
the young Raja Krishnanath of Cossimbazar Rajbari. Later he was promoted to
the rank of Manager of Cossimbazar Raj. He was rewarded with Rupees one
lakh by the minor Raja of Cossinbazar for his excellent service to the Estate.

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EAP 906: Estate Record Book of Mitra family (title page), 1939-1942

EAP 906: Estate Record Book of Mitra family (inside view), 1939-1942

In 1842, Raja Krishnanath moved to Calcutta and settled down there. However,
the relationship between Digambar Mitra and Raja Krishnanath considerably
soured over the time. In 1844 Raja Krishnanath committed suicide. Digambar
Mitra left the service of Cossimbazar Rajbari and stated his career of business
by investing his capital in indigo and silk manufacturing. He soon had silk

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factories in Ramkhollah, Rajapatty, Mirzapur and Daulatbazar in Murshibad.

His silk was prepared and assorted after European method. He had his own
trademark bearing his initials DM undr which it was placed for sale in market. It
became a well-known mark that readily found buyers, and fetched prices next
to the qualities produced by Messrs. Watson &Co., the great silk merchants of
the time. In the course of his mercantile transactions, he came into close
contact with the leading members of the Union Bank and started putting his
money in speculation. He suffered heavy lose due to the fall of Union Bank in
1849. When the Bank failed in 1849, he was left with only Rs. 25000/-. But with
this small amount of capital, he did miracle. He recovered steadily. He was
engaged in stock dealing. He also started investing in land and became a
zaminder. He acquired landed properties in Joynagar, Konnagar, Raichak,
Baruipur and other places.

Digambar Mitra was not only a renowned Bengali businessman of his time; he
was actively involved in other spheres of life. He became the assistant
secretary of the British Indian Association in 1851 and later on became the
President of Indian Association. He became the sub-editor of ‘Bharat Sabha’. In
1874, he became the first Bengali Sheriff of Calcutta. Before that, he presided
over various committees and commissions. He was the only Indian
representative in ‘Epidemic Fever Commission’. He produced an excellent book
in 1876 entitled “The Epidemic Fever in Bengal”. He was a staunch orthodox
Hindu and opposed the issues of abolition of Kulin polygamy practice and
widow remarriage.

Digambar Mitra passed away in 1879. His son, Girish Chandra passed away
before him. Girish Chandra had two sons, Manmathanath and Narendranath.
They started a charitable dispensary after the name of Girish Chandra Mitra. It
became famous for ayurvedic treatment. The eminent ayurvedic practitioners
(kabiraj) in Kolkata used to supervise the treatment of the patients there.

Manmathanath and Narendranath were involved in many philanthropic works.

They donated heavily for Victoria Memorial fund, South Africa War Fund,
famine relief fund, Prince Albert Victor Hospital, and Carmichael Medical
College. Later Manmathanath left Jhamapukur Rajbari and bought a mansion
from R. Mitter,an eminent lawyer of that time, and settled in Shyampukur
(which later came to be known as Shyampukur Rajbari. He had seven sons.

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Narendranath remained in the ancestral house in Jhamapukur. Shyampukur

Rajbari, presently, houses the descendants of Narendranath.
Presently, both the descendants of Jhamapukur Rajbari and Shyampukur
Rajbari are involved in various professions other than business.

We found eleven volumes of Estate Records of the Mitra family (14.04.1937 -

15.08.1952), sixteen pages of Stock Register (08.11.1944 - 16.11.1945), two
volumes of letters (27 pages), three books entitled Unrepealed General Acts
(Vol.II), 1876, Thacker's Directory of the Chief Industries of India, Burma and
Ceylon, 1926 and Trilingual Dictionary (Bengali, Sanskrit and English), undated,
two manuscripts (200 pages) and 16 family photographs.

B.K. Paul and Family

92, Sobhabazar Street, Shobhabazar, Kolkata, West Bengal 700005
Contact Person: Amal Krishna Paul

Butto Kristo Paul was born in 1835 near Shibpur in Howrah, Bengal. His father,
Lakshminarayan Pal was a petty businessman but not very well off. When
Batto Kristo was around 12 years of age he left Shibpur to settle down in his
maternal house in Sobhabazar in north Calcutta. His maternal grandfather
bought a small estate near Sobhabazar -Beniatola region in north Kolkata
where eventually Butto Kristo started living in. His maternal uncle, Ramkumar
had a small spice shop in Natunbazar in north Kolkata where Butto Kristo first
started working in. But he always dreamt of carrying out his own independent
business ventures from a very young age. This prompted him to leave the spice
shop behind and start an opium selling shop when he was just 16 years old in
the Chitpore region of north Kolkata. It was a flourishing business by then.
However, Butto Kristo always felt guilty about selling opium and he abruptly
called off the opium shop in Chitpore and went to Baidyabati in Hoogly. He
started a jute shop there with a very small amount of capital.

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EAP 906: House of B.K.Paul, 1906 EAP 906: House of B.K.Paul, 2016

However, he was not satisfied with his Jute business and opened up a small
spice shop in Sobhabazar Street in north Kolkata. Again, he withdrew from this
venture and started a medicine shop in 120/121 Sobhabazar Street with the
help of Madhab Chandra Daw. He was very aware of the pulse of the people
who were by then shifting from traditional medicinal practices like ayurvedic
medicines to western allopathic medications introduced by the British. There
was a rising demand for allopathic medicines in the market. He started
contacting agents in Kolkata who were attached with foreign medicine
companies and started bringing medicines from London. These medicines were
sold from his shop which was named as “Butto Kristo Paul and Company". He
used to sell these medicines at lower rates than his fellow foreign medicine
shops in Kolkata and thus he attracted the buyers. Apart from importing and
selling allopathic medicines he also started popularizing the allopathic
medication among the native population of Kolkata.

Butto Kristo Paul bought a three-storied building on 7, Bonfield Lane and

opened up a new medicine shop there. Later he purchased land and built up a
house on 12, Bonfield lane. They opened up a store-house on 16/17
Chinabazar street in Kolkata. They built another huge house on 30, Sobhabazar
Street in 1904. They opened up a dispensary in this house too. In 1909, they

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bought a mansion on 13, Bonfield Lane. They opened up a research laboratory

in 18, Shashibhushan Sur Lane in 1912. They opened up around 16
departments in medicinal instruments, medicine making, dentistry, eye
treatment, homeopathy, ayurveda, patent medicine, photography, etc. There
was also a separate veterinary department for the treatment of the
animals. He engaged his elder son, Bhootnath Paul, to his flourishing business.
It was Bhootnath who made the Butto Kristo Paul and Company a household
name in Bengal through the use of advertisements in the leading newspapers,
magazines and even in the traditional almanacs. His sons, Harishankar and
Harimohan were also engaged in the family business. Harishankar went to
England to have a firsthand experience on the operation of the medicine
business there. In 1930, he was awarded the title of Knighthood. Harishankar
was not only a renowned businessman but also an enthusiastic social worker.
In 1936, he became the mayor of Calcutta Municipal Corporations. He also
founded the Bengal Chemists and Druggists Association.

EAP 906: Seal of B.K.Paul & Co EAP 906: Advertisement of Edward Tonic
The medicine business of Butto Kristo Paul and Company acquired so much
reputation that that the Indian Medical Record stated in 1909 in that ‘Calcutta
can at least boast of one pharmacy organized and financed solely by Indian
brain and Capital/which/only through unstinted honesty of purpose and
dogged perseverance of its founder proprietor, has fully won the confidence
and esteem of even in the Western world.’

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EAP 906: Cyclopedia of India, 1906 EAP 906: Letterhead of B.K.Paul

In the house of B.K.Paul we found some old labels, posters and advertisements
of medicine, almanacs published by B.K. Paul & Co., seal and letterhead of the
company, family photographs and a book entitled The Cyclopedia Of India
(1906) where the life and works of B.K.Paul was mentioned.

Daw Family of Jorasanko (Narasimha Chandra Daw & Family)

20, Vivekananda Road, Kolkata- 700006
Contact Person: Abhir Daw

A fraction of the Daw family headed by Ramnarayan Daw settled at Jorasanko

in Calcutta at the very beginning of the nineteenth century migrating from
their ancestral village of Kotulpur of the present district of Bankura, West
Bengal. One of his descendants, Narasimha Chandra Daw was initially engaged
in spice trade and later he moved on to a more profitable business of gun
selling. He opened up a gun shop in 9, Dalhousie Square, BBD Bag, Calcutta-
700001 named ‘Narasimha Chandra Daw and Co., Gun and Rifle Makers’ in
around 1835. The context for opening up a gun shop was to provide the
provincial rulers or native Rajas of India specially that of Bengal, Bihar and
Orissa for personal safety as well as for wildlife hunting or shikar purposes.
During the early rule of East India Co., there was stiff competition and petty

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intra-regional political rivalry between these native regional rulers for which
they maintained their own respective arms arsenals. Very quickly, this class of
Indian chiefs, Rajas, zamindars and other petty regional rulers, became steady
buyers of arms and ammunition of this company. They also provided licenses
along with the guns and rifles to this elite class of buyers. Gradually, a steady
market of muzzle loading guns appeared vis-à-vis this company quickly
emerged as a leading gun merchant in whole India competing with other
cotemporary European gun merchants. During the revolt of 1857, they started
marketing the breech loading guns and revolvers. They also started selling
small sized canons. These canons were 17 inches long and produced by
Winchester Repeating Arms which are still used to initiate sandhi puja during
Durga Puja every year in their old house on Vivekananda Road.

EAP 906: Gun shop of N.C.Daw & Co. EAP 906: Gun shop of N.C.Daw & Co.

During the late 18th and 19th century, guns were primarily imported from
England and Germany. R. B Roda and Co. and Manton and Co. were the two
major European gun sellers in Kolkata during that time. The Daws had to face
stiff competition with them in the market and the pressure was more so
because it was an indigenous business venture under a colonial rule. Gradually
they took the lead in the market and virtually become the monopoly gun
sellers to the Indian chiefs as well as the officials of the East India Company.
After Narasimha Daw, the business was looked after by his three sons,
Ashutosh, Neelmadhab and Nandalal. Due to an exponential increase in
demand, Ashutosh Daw opened up a new shop named ‘A.T Daw and Co.’ in
1884 at Dharmatola Street in Calcutta. The customers of the Daw family

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included the royal families of Nepal, Jaipur, Tripura, Bhutan, Sikkim, Assam and
all the leading zamindari families of Bengal. During the Post-independence era,
there was a steady decline in the authority of the Indian chiefs and landlords
who were the chief buyers of guns. Simultaneously, with the growing
restrictions on the practice of hunting, the demand for guns decreased to a
great extent. Naturally the gun business of the Daw family was affected badly.
However, they found new buyers of guns among the big factory owners, the
government of India and the shooters of various events of shooting. Both the
N. C Daw and Company and A.T. Daw and Company have branches in different
parts of Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand.

EAP 906: Second-hand Arms register, 1934-65 EAP 906: Second-hand Arms register, 1934-65
Title page

The Daw family is well known for its Durga Puja which was initiated around
1859 by late Nandalal Daw. It still continues with the same grandeur as before.
Most of the members of the Daw family are still engaged in their old family
business.

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EAP 906: Advertisement of 25 Coils Tarred Safety Fuse EAP 906: Trade Licence of N.C.Daw & Con. 1896-97

EAP 906: Cheque Receipts of King Hamilton & Con. 19.7.2011

A the house and the shop of the Daw family we found a trade license of 1896-
97, an appoint letter of agent ship from the Khan of Kalat, Beluchistan, an
appointment letter from the Governor of Assam as supplier of arms and
ammunition, a catalogue of arms, ammunition and accessories of 1939-40; a
money receipt of 1911 from King Hamilton & Co. , a register of second hand

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arms (16.1934-31.8.1965) and family photographs of Narasimha Daw,

Dhanakrishna Daw, Nandalal Daw, Asutosh Daw and Nilmadhab Daw.

Daw Family of Jorasanko (Shib Krishna Daw & Family)

12A, Shib Krishna Daw Lane, Kolkata- 700006
Contact Person: Ashim Chandra Daw

The Daw family of Jorasanko headed by Shib Krishna Daw became one of the
leading business families of nineteenth century Bengal. The family founder
Gakul Chandra Daw came and settled down in Kolkata from Satgachhia village
of Burdwan. He belonged to the Gandhabanik caste, a traditional trading caste
of Bengal. Gakul Chandra Daw carried out his business in collaboration with his
maternal cousin, Haladhar Dutta. He never had any son of his own whereas
Haladhar had two sons, Shib Krishna and Rajkrishna Dutta. Gakul Chandra
eventually adopted Shib Krishna. Thus his adopted son Shib Krishna came to be
known as Shib Krishna Daw.

After the death of Gakul Chandra Daw, Shib Krishna inherited the family
property and businesses. He had the spirit of a true entrepreneur. Shib Krishna
ventured in the field of coal mining in Raniganj Asansol coalfields area
following the path of DwarkanathTagore of his own locality. He opened up coal
mines in Seebpore and Koithi. Shib Krishna Daw and Company opened up a
narrow gauze rail line in collaboration with the Armenian company, Apcar &
Co. in 1876 in Seebpur coal mines area which facilitated the transportation of
coal. Shib Krishna died in 1873 leaving behind his wife Kadambari Dasi and two
minor sons, Purna Chandra and Haridas. Through his last will Shib Krishna
made Kadambari Dasi and Krishnadhan Dutta as the executrix and executor
respectively of his property as both of his sons were minors. Later in 1891
Haridas made his mother and elder brother the legal heir of his property
through a will as he had no son.

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EAP 906:Will of Haridas Daw, 1891 (First Page) EAP 906:Will of Haridas Daw, 1891 (Last Page)

EAP 906: Deed of Arpannama, 1896 (First Page) EAP 906: Deed of Arpannama, 1896 (Last Page)

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The descendents of Shib Krishna Daw were actively engaged in coal mining up
to 1893. They handed over their coal mines to Andrew Yule & Company on a
lease of Rupees one thousand per month. Thereafter the Daw family shifted
their attention in other ventures than coal mining. Later Purna Chandra Daw
and his successors tried to regain their coal mines but the abolition of
zamindari in 1950s made that move quite impossible.

EAP 906: Agreement of Sale, 1932 (First Page) EAP 906: Agreement of Sale, 1932 (Last Page)

The Daw family celebrated Durga Puja with great pomp and show since the
time of Shib Krishna Daw. He imported jewelleries from Parris for the Goddess
Durga. In 1897, this family built a ‘Ras Bari’ near Bally, Howrah and used to
spend huge money during the festival of Ras Purnima. From Kirti Chandra Daw,
this family started investing their capital in real estate business. They owned
several markets in and around Calcutta. This family is still engaged in business
particularly in real estate business.

We have identified some important documents at the house of the Daw family.
The oldest one is the will of Haridas Daw, the younger son of Shib Chandra
Daw constituted in the year 1891. The second one is a Deed of Arpannama of

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1896 by which a large portion of the immovable family property was dedicated
for the purpose of maintenance of the family deity and other religious
observations and a trust was formed named Shib Krishna Debattar Trust to
look after the debattar property headed by Purna Chandra Daw. We have also
found a Sale Agreement of 6.11.1932 signed between Pulin Chandra Daw, Anil
Chandra Daw, Bamkim Chandra Daw and Naresh Chandra Basu and Dindayal
Basu to purchase a property in Banaras. We have seen some family
photographs and portraits displayed at their residence.

Upendrakishore Ray (Chowdhury) and Family

1/1 Bishop Lefroy Road, Kolkata- 700020

Contact Persons: Sandip Ray, Prasad Ranjan Ray,Dr. Sugata Mohan Bose, Amitananda Das, Sukla
Mitra and Debajyoti Dutta

The 19th and 20th centuries saw the rise of two remarkable families in Bengal
– the Rays and the Tagores. And the Bengalis owe their cultural consciousness
to these two legendary families. The Tagore family where Rabindranath Tagore
was born remained the powerhouse of social, cultural, literary and reformist
activities for three generations. And Satyajit Ray’s family too had held for three
generations an eminent position in fashioning the cultural and literary
traditions of Bengali society.

EAP 906: Ray Paribar (Title Page) EAP 906: Ray Paribar (First Page)

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EAP 906: Upendrakishor Ray (Chowdhury) EAP 906: Sukumar Ray

EAP 906: Letter of Upendrakishor Ray (Chowdhury), 1/2 EAP 906: Letter of Upendrakishor Ray (Chowdhury), 2/2

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The history of the Rays goes back to the mid 16th century when Ramsundar
Deb decided to settle in Yasodal (in Bangladesh) as the son-in-law of a local
ruler. His subsequent generations acquired the honorific title of Majumdar,
which later changed to Ray which too was bestowed on them as a mark of
honour. The family branched into two separate branches in the second half of
the 18th century. Ramkanta Majumdar was born into the more educated of
the two families. Adept in several languages and known for his musical talents,
he was a man of courage and great physical strength. Kalinath Ray, Ramkanto’s
grandson, was a scholar in Sanskrit, Arabic and Persian. Kamadaranjan, second
of Kalinath’s five sons, was born in 1863. At the age of five, he was adopted by
Harikishore, a relative who was a zamindar in Mymensingh (now in
Bangladesh). Kamadaranjan was renamed as Upendrakishore and given the
surname ‘Raychaudhuri’ by Harikishore. It was during the end of nineteenth
century, with Upendrakishore, the family emerged in modern Bengal as a
distinguished cultural entity, probably next to the formidable tribe of the
Tagores. He was like that of Dawraknath Tagore, the fortune maker of the
Tagore family. Both of them had genuine love for learning and literature,
Brahmo Samaj background, scientific bent of mind, receptive mind to adopt
new technology of the time and after all a genuine entrepreneurial spirit.

EAP 906: Letter of Upendrakishor Ray EAP 906: Letter of Upendrakishor Ray (Chowdhury), 2/2
(Chowdhury), 1/2

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Report of EAP 906

Upendrakishore was not only talented but also resourceful and possessed
great entrepreneurial ability. He pioneered half-tone-block-making, printing
and book publishing in Bengal under the name U Ray (later U Ray and Sons)
around the turn of the century. He wrote articles for the Penrose Annual
journal of British printing industry, improved printing process with his own
inventions, wrote books for children, illustrated, printed, published and sold
them. He wrote songs still sung in the Brahmo Samaj and played the flute and
the violin. His elder brother Saradaranjan pioneered the game of cricket; of the
other brothers one was a professor, others writers. Kuladaranjan and
Pramadaranjan Ray translated Jules Verne and Arthur Conan Doyle to the
delight of children and adolescents.

EAP 906: Upendrakishor Ray (Chowdhury) EAP 906: Upendrakishor Ray (Chowdhury)

Upendrakishore’s son Sukumar Ray carried the legacy forward. Ray family had
a passion for children’s literature, but none more than Sukumar Ray. He
became the Indian counterpart of Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear. His nonsense
verses are still memorised by Bengali children and delight their parents with a
very high quality of imaginative verses and inventive illustration. He edited and
published a children’s magazine named Sandesh (meaning both news and
sweetmeat) which became enormously popular and was revived later by his
son, Satyajit Ray.

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Sukumar Ray died in 1923, when his son, Satyajit was barely two years old. He
was brought up by his mother at her brother’s house in the midst of a large
extended family full of cousins, uncles and aunts. The family was very close to
the Tagores. After graduating from Presidency College, Kolkata, Satyajit Ray
went to Santiniketan, the university founded by Rabindranath to learn painting
at Kala Bhavan under the supervision of great Bengali master painters like
Nandalal Bose and Binod Bihari Mukhopadhyay. In 1942, Ray left Santiniketan
and joined in a British advertising agency, D J Keymer and Co. , as a commercial
artist. He did a good deal of book-jacket designing and illustration work for
Signet Press, a pioneering publishing firm which set new standards in Indian
book production. Among the books he illustrated was an abridged version of
Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay’s Pather Panchali on which he produced his
first feather film that changed his career as a film maker as well as the course
of the history of Indian film. Ray was a versatile genius. He not only produced
excellent films, but also wrote ceaselessly for the children and youth and
illustrated them following the tradition of his father and grandfather.

EAP 906: Upendrakishor Ray (Chowdhury) EAP 906: Upendrakishor’s daughter, Sakuntala Rao with
children

Satyajit’s son, Sandip Ray is carrying out the tradition set up by his family as a
filmmaker and graphic artist, and keeps the family name intact even in the
fourth generation.

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Report of EAP 906

EAP 906: A Group Photograph of Ray Family

The members of Ray family are very much particular in keeping the family
records. They have a huge collection of family photographs, drawings and
letters. They have kept a handwritten family history entitled Ray Poribar (Ray
Family) written in 1915. We have found a copy of Penrose’s Pictorial Annual
(Vol. Xi. 1905-6) edited by William Gamble at their house.

The survey conducted by the research team of EAP 906 clearly shows that
there are still a considerable amount of private records available under the
custody of the selected business families of Bengal that have to be preserved
for the sake of academic research and a better understanding of the business
history of Bengal during the colonial period. The private records hitherto
explored indicates that the Bengali business families did not gave up their
business activities even after the fall of the Union Bank which was considered
as the death blow to the Bengali business initiatives. There was certainly a
continuity rather than a break in Bengali business activities in the period
between the fall of the Union Bank and the Swadeshi era.

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Report of EAP 906

List of Private Records of Thirteen Business Families of Bengal

Name of the Record(s) Volume Condition

I. Deb Family of Shobhabazar (Nabakrishna Deb and Family)

Legal Document (s)

Equity Suit: K.C. Ghose Vs. K.S.Ghose, 1926 35 Pages Fair
Equity Suit: Maha Rajah Sib Kristo Bahadoor Vs. Kristo Chandra Ghosh & 5 Pages
Others, 1838 Fair
Will of Maha Rajah Raj Kissen Bahadoor (Bengali Version), 7.8.1823 9 Pages Fair
Will of Maha Rajah Raj Kissen Bahadoor (English Version), 7.8.1823 5 Pages Fair
Grant of Tallookdarry to Raja Nabakissen by the East India 4 Pages Poor
Company(1778)
Partition of the Zamindari Estate, 1927 1 Page Fair
Book(s)
Bytal Puchisi (The Twenty Five Tales Of Byta), 1834 Fair
A Rapid Sketches on The Life of Raja Radhakanta Deva Bahadur, 1859 Poor

2. Mitra Family of Madanmohantala (Gokul Chandra Mitra and Family)

Legal Document(s)
Will of Gakulchandra Mitra, 1.6.1807 8 Pages Poor
Book(s)
Purnachandra Dey, Madanmohan-Thakur O Gakulchandra Mitra, 1937 Fair
Map(s)
Aron Upjojn’s Map of Calcutta and its Environs from an accurate survey I Page Fair
taken in the years 1792 and 1793

3. Ghosh Family of Pathuriaghat (Ramlochan Ghosh and Family)

Legal Document(s)
Patta of 1727 2 Pages Fair
Partta of 1753 2 Pages Fair
Patta of 1764 2 Pages Fair
Patta of 1782 (October 18) 2 Pages Fair
Patta of 1782 (October 18) 2 Pages Fair
Patta of 1782 (October 19) 2 Pages Fair
Patta of 1799 2 Pages Fair

4. Ray Family of Cossimbazar

Punthis (Manuscripts)
Brata Ratnabali NA Damaged
Dayabhaga Tattwa NA Damaged

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Report of EAP 906

Name of the Record(s) Volume Condition

Dibya Tattwa, Byabhar Tattwa, Manamag Tattwa NA Damaged

Ekadashi Tattwa NA Damaged
Gautamiya Tattwa NA Damaged
Jyotish Tattwa NA Damaged
Mahabharata NA Damaged
Prakita Lankeswar (Treatise on Prakita Grammer) NA Damaged
Prayaschittwa Nirnay, Asauch Nirnay NA Damaged
Suddhi Tattwa NA Damaged
Timi Tattwa NA Damaged
Boidik Home NA Damaged
Illustrated Unidentified Punthi NA Damaged
Chandi NA Damaged
Books printed in the form of Punthi
Satika Dashakarma Padhyati (Printed at Jyotiprakash Press, 1886) NA Damaged
Unidentified Punthi (Printed at Samacharchandrika Press) NA
Letters 50 Fair
Yearly Astrological Predictions 70 Damaged
Book(s)
Collection of Books 1200 Partially
titles damaged

5. Dutta Family of Hatkhola

Legal Document (s)

Deed of Conveyance(1894) 6 Pages Fair
Agreement of Sale(1894) 4 Pages Fair
Building Plan of 78,Nimtola Ghat Street House(1884) 1 page Poor

6. Law Family of Thanthania (Prankissen Law and Family)

Letters/ Certificates
Appointment Letter Of Murari Charan Law As Consul Of Calcutta 1 Page Fair
List of the Sheriffs Of Calcutta , 1775-1953 1 Page Fair
Salute Letter From Léon Dumarsais Estimé, President Of Haïti 1Page Fair
Photograph (s)/ Painting (s)
Family Photographs 174 Partially
damaged

7. Motilal Family of Bowbazar (Biswanath Motilal and Family)

Legal Document (s)

Deed of Gift between Ramnarain Muttylall and Sreemutty 4 Pages Partially
Bhoobunesury Dabee (7.4.1875) damaged
Deed of Gift between Dharendra Nath Muttylall and Sm. Subarna Kumari 6 Pages Partially
Devi (12.5.1942) damaged

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Report of EAP 906

Name of the Record(s) Volume Condition

Deed of Gift between Dharendra Nath Muttylall and Naranath Motilal 6 Pages Fair
(4.9.1942)
Plan of Premises No. 1/1A, Durga Charan Pithuri Lane 1 Page Partially
damaged
Photograph (s)/ Painting (s)
Portrait of Biswanath Motilal 1 Fair
Photographs of the family deity Goddess Jagatdhatri 2 Damaged

8. Seal Family of Colootola (Mitilal Seal and Family)

Legal Document (s)

Deed of Dissolution and Assignment with Covenant and Mutual 8 Pages Fair
Releases (24.2.1864)
Land Map and Land Record of Bangladesh Property (1928) 4 Pages Fair
Jogendranath Mullick Vs Kanto Mohon Mullick (1937) 74 Pages Fair
A Legal Agreement(Indenture) of 1874 20 Pages Fair
Will of Joygopaul Sen (28.2.1887) 6 Pages Fair
Suit IV of 186 ( Joygopaul Sen Vs. H.V. Thomas) 8 Pages Fair
Book(s)
Handwritten Family History 151 Fair
Pages
Letter(s)
Letters, Correspondence And Abstract Of Estimate For Proposed 15 Pages Fair
Repairs (1937)

9. Mitra Family of Shyampukur ( Digambar Mitra and Family)

Cash Books
Cash Books ( 14.04.1937 To 15.08.1952) Partially
damaged
Cash Book (15.4.1939-8.9.1942) Partially
damaged
Cash Book (14.4.1942-14.1.1943) Partially
damaged
Cash Book (10.9.1942-8.7.1945) Partially
damaged
Cash Book (10.7.1945-25.12.1951) Partially
damaged
Cash Book (20.9.1945-22.12.1947) Partially
damaged
Cash Book (14.4.1948-13.4.1950) Partially
damaged
Cash Book (21.11.1945-22.2.1947) Partially
damaged

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Report of EAP 906

Name of the Record(s) Volume Condition

Cash Book (23.2.1947-13.4.1948) Partially

damaged
Cash Book (23.6.1944-16.11.1945) Partially
damaged
Cash Book (24.10.1950-15.8.1952) Partially
damaged
Calcutta Corporation Tax Receipts (1951) 4 Pages Partially
damaged
Letters, Correspondence 27 Pages Partially
damaged
Book(s)
Unrepealed General Acts ( Vol.ii) , 1876 Fair
Thacker's Directory of The Chief Industries of India, Burma And Ceylon, Fair
1926
Trilingual Dictionary (Bengali, Sanskrit And English); Undated Partially
damaged
Punthi (Masuscripts)

Unidentified Manuscript 200 Partially

Pages damaged

10. Butto Kristo Paul and Family

Advertisements
Advertisement of Products 3 pages Fair
Letterhead of B.K.Paul & Co. 1 Fair
Sticker Of Medicine 15 Fair
Photographs
Family Photographs 7 Fair
Book(s)
The Cyclopedia Of India (1906) 1 Partially
(Name and works of B.K.Paul was mentioned In the book ) damaged
Almanac Printed from B.K.Paul & Co.Ltd. 2 Fair
Catalogue of Price List of Medicines produced and marketed by B.K.Paul 1 Fair
& Co.Ltd

11. Daw Family of Jorasanko (Narasimha Chandra Daw & Family)

Business Record(s)
Trade License of 1896-1897 1 Fair
Appointment Letter as Agents in Calcutta by the Khan of Kalat (1942) 1 Fair
Appointment Letter as Ammunition Suppliers by the Governor of 1 Fair
Assam (1948)
Money Receipt from King Hamilton & Co. 1911 1 Fair

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Report of EAP 906

Name of the Record(s) Volume Condition

Receipt of “25 Coils Tarred Safety Fuse” made for N.C Daw & Co. 1 Fair
Catalogue of Arms, Ammunition And Accessories (1939-1940) 24 Pages Fair
Second Hand Arms Register (16/01/1934 To 31/08/1965) 380 Partially
Pages damaged
Photograph(s)
Pictures of Narasimha Daw, Dhanakrishna Daw, Nandalal Daw, Asutosh 5 Fair
Daw And Nilmadhab Daw

12. Daw Family of Jorasanko (Shibkrishna Daw & Family)

Legal Document (s)

Arpan-Nama (1896), a Deed of Debattar Property 22 Pages Fair
Will of Haridas Daw, son of Shibkrishna Daw (1891) 20 Pages Fair
Sale Deed o f Benaras Property 7 Pages Fair
Agreement of Sale between Pulin Chandra Daw, Anil Chandra Daw, 4 Pages Fair
Bamkim Chandra Daw and Naresh Chandra Basu and Dindayal Basu
(1932)
Photograph (s)/ Painting (s)
Family Photographs 16 Fair

13. Upendrakisore Ray Chowdhury

Photograph (s)/ Painting (s)

Family Photographs 250 Fair
Drawing 1 Fair
Letters Fair
Letters written by Upendrkishore Ray Chowdhury 13 Partially
damaged
Books/ Manuscripts
Penrose’s Pictorial Annual (Vol. Xi. 1905-6) Edited By William Gamble 168 Partially
Pages damaged
Manuscript of Ray Paribar (handwritten family history) 22 Pages Fair

49